Ameliorate
by grimkat
Summary: The war was nationwide and the Resistance of Unova came to steel and mon' against Plasma. Unova may have won the war, but at what a cost? Kassandra, one of the leading trainers in the Resistance, is left with a broken team and heart. Escaping her mental health residence, she flees with her grandpa to Viridian Village to save a dusty farm and just maybe, herself, too. Chapter 3 UP!
1. Animando

_The small snake creature across from her held its tail shyly, hiding behind its youthful sprouts. The sunshine bounced off its smooth, perfect green scales. Wine narrowed pools held Kassandra's uncertain stare._

_"I- I. I... Um. Kassandra is my name. We-we're partners now." Kassandra bit her tongue, not sure how to proceed._

_"Greh, greh." The snivy gave her a small encouraging smile, nodding._

_The summer sun filtered gracefully through the huge oaks of Route One. The heat wasn't bad at all, with the white noise of a river in the background. Life was everywhere in the forest stretch, with wide blue skies above._

_Kass squeezed her toes and swallowed. The dew on the grass felt good between her fingers. "I-I really wanna be friends with you but I'm not sure how. I... I'm not good at making them, friends, but I really like you and I really want us to have fun. I'm not sure what my goal is but... I just want happy days. With you and potential partners. Um, what do you think?"_

_In the short time she had closed her eyes, the snivy had snuck up onto her lap, sitting criss-cross-applesauce. His deep red orbs and her amber brown were close, his elongated snout less than a hair's touch from my own. A soft grin played on his baby features, the childish traits evident in his lit face. He leaned slightly to the left and a rough, cool texture brushed across her cheek. His little lick gave her an odd, new sensation of tranquility._

_"Greh." He joyfully deadpanned._

_Kassandra couldn't help the laughter that trickled out. "Thanks, Harvester. You're great."_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Ameliorate, Act I**

**Animando -becoming more lively-**

Kassandra gripped her thin blankets tightly to her body, trying to be as small as she could in the corner. The looming therapist growled, and pinched the bridge of his nose, and she momentarily related him to something alike a psyduck; never without a headache of some kind. "We aren't going to be able to help you if you don't tell us what you went through."

"I won't say anything until my remaining pokemon are with me." She stated flatly, the repeated words most likely _still_ falling on closed ears. The man was sickly thin in his baggy white coat, and worked up in his frustration, he leaned up against the wall. Her report of what happened was supposedly necessary for the government to document the last Plasma battle, but it didn't seem to be much of a bargaining chip.

"Your pokemon are too powerful for us to fend off." He grumbled, speaking with his hands as well. "You could easily escape, which we can't allow until you're better. _You're_ the one who agreed to this." Defeat lowered his tone as he clicked his annoying little pen.

Kassandra didn't respond, instead pondering how her pokemon were doing. Were they scared? Lonely? They were being poked by other guys with huge noses and thick glasses, with white coats too. She shivered, nose crinkled at the image she couldn't get out of her head of their unhappy faces.

It wasn't like she was going to kill herself. She had always considered it as a very last option, and she would never be strong enough to, anyway. She wouldn't leave and kill off Plasma members either, no matter how much her heart was starting to warm to the idea. She was absolutely sick of violence. She wasn't insane, nor was she mentally inept or scarred. Okay, she was a little scared, but she was alright now. She was just... Sad. A little angry. Lonely in the absence of her pokemon.

Kassandra never realised what life would be like without her pokemon. Without their love and affection and protection that were constant in the past half decade, she felt exposed. Her confidence evaporated without them. After all, they _were_ her, in a sense. Her accomplishments and her family that she created herself. Like her children, but more so her equals. Her...

Her comrades.

"I can't see my friends with how I am now. I just want my pokemon." She murmured in a tone that was laced with a tiredness not caused by a lack of sleep, and disgust. With herself.

He wrote on his tiny little pad, his gaze flickering to her and the paper. His watched buzzed and he stepped out of the room to answer it, seemingly fed up with of her lack of… anything. Or perhaps just frustrated, as this was the common interaction of the past month.

She wasn't good at reading him. She didn't really try to, anyway. None of them could really fix the problem. She was broken. That's all she really was now, without Harvester, her strength and other half.

They really had tried, but Kassandra was in enough of her mental mess to not care too much about what they were trying to do.

Kassandra glared daggers at the sterile food trade holding the options of mush, a gross old apple, and something akin to microwaved cheese. Even that seemed good then. She was starving. But she wouldn't eat, not until her pokemon were safely in her arms and happy. It was the only way to rebel that she could think of.

The thought of her raggedy team crossed her mind again. Consisting of Mythos, Monti, and a crazed Pennelope. The adorable sewaddle had faced a lot, and now would only not attack Burgh or herself, trusting no one but them. Kassandra didn't even know what on earth happened to the bug in the first place.

They probably kept her down with a constant river of sedatives, unfortunately. Now that was _**disgusting**_. Her cute, resourceful little baby, now barely alive and barely dead and there was nothing she could do about it.

Monti was probably throwing a fit about the gross food they tried to slide past his fine tastes. And his sleeping quarters, the audacity of his momentary keepers! She chuckled at the thought of the offended persian.

Mythos probably just ignored everything. Seemed like him enough to.

The doctor walked back in, a hint of a smile on his face. "Will you please come see your grandfather, at the very least?"

Her eyes widened, and a bit warmth fluttered in her empty stomach.

She hadn't seen the old fart since she was nine, due to his large drinking problem. He had finally quit for good three years ago, but her overprotective parents refused every time he asked to visit, from all the way from Kanto. A quiet, pathetic little _okay _drifted out of her before she had thought very much about it.

Ten minutes later, they were sitting at a small little kiddy table, staring at each other. He looked much cleaner, certainly. No scraggly stubble, no stench of alcohol, no pink in his eyes or red cheeks from being entirely wasted. His once charcoal hair had turned to the color of fine ash, and it was neatly shaven. He nodded at her, grinning from ear to ear.

She nodded back, biting her trembling lower lip, holding back tears.

He nodded back to her.

She nodded back to him, feeling a bit determined as it morphed into a trade off of the nods.

Her stomach loudly wailed, and she blinked, rubbing it a bit as her tummy did flips and loops, pirouetting off the metaphorical handle. He laughed, pointing at her childishly. "You blinked!"

"Wha- wait, no! It was a nodding contest!"

"Nope!"

"Bluh." She mumbled, sticking out her tongue.

They bickered and their competition continued until it degraded eventually into a intense thumb war of the ages. When she lost for the seventh time, he gave her another close look, and hugged her. "Hey, kiddo. I may have not been here, but I've certainly heard the stories. What the hell happened?"

Doctor Thunderland, the therapist on duty, tried to interject, saying that she wasn't ready to reveal, but he gave the doctor a look that silenced him immediately. "She can decide if she's ready or not, Doctor Thunderland. By the way, your name is stupid. Anyway, dear Kassandra, you were saying?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "I-I fought. In the war. Against the um, you know... Plasma."

"My sweet, brave granddaughter, I still can't believe it. You used to be scared of everything when you were a little potato." He chuckled softly, sighing.

It seemed he didn't change much in his personality since she last saw him. He did seem smaller, older, but more dangerous if anything. She could only bob her head up and down, fleetingly wondered where all her backbone had flew off to.

Before the final hurrah, she'd have grinned at a challenge and beat her opponent into smithereens and would say something probably a little cocky at the end if she had won by a landslide. She may have been worse for the wear, but she had certainly been raring to go with the strength to fight Team Plasma. For the deaths of Penny and Sherlock, for what they were trying to do, and her friends, and for her life style. She had been so, so sure of everything.

_Harvester wouldn't approve of your miserable pity party_, she stabbed herself with the thought. Kassandra knew she needed to get back on her feet. Stop being half of nothing, and start being herself, and fix her filthy little excuse of existence. She took a deep breath, and stared at her grandfather with absolute certainty.

"I need to become human again. I think I've forgotten my humanity, Grandpa."

He sighed on a long not and nodded. "I know, Kassandra. I can see you, dead inside."

She didn't know how to take that, how to respond to that. What to do with it. She didn't try to, but instead narrowed her eyes.

"Loss can make a man raw. Team Plasma ripped the layers of my granddaughter, tore out her innermost self, and stomped on it. But I think I know a way to make it whole again, my dear."

She blinked, and the doctor got up. He tried to intercept again but got caught off once more.

"Don't worry, Thunderland. I know how to handle my damn kin, thank you very much."

The man huffed, and placed a hand on his watch. Kassandra could tell he was probably going to call security.

Her grandfather laughed loudly, seemingly amused by this. "Anyway, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted... I used to have a farm. I left it when you were three, to spend more time with our family in Kanto. Lovely idea that was." He muttered sarcastically, with a hint of anger. Kassandra knew it wasn't directed at her, however. "Anyway, the farm was part of a small town my pops grew up in. I know the people fairly well, and that farm is still vacant. No rent, since we own it, and yours to do with as you see fit. What do you think, Kassandra?"

She swallowed, and her face ached as her lips seeped up. Her cheeks felt thick, unused to the expression. It was a little painful, but had a warm feeling. She hadn't smiled in a while.

Kassandra stared in disbelief at her grandfather later that week, grinning before her with a taser in his hand and a handful of familiar balls in his other. He had a dirty, dingy bag strapped to his back.

She laughed, for the first time in a long time. It was genuine, not bitter, and it rang out like music. "And to what do I owe the pleasure?" She questioned, eyes trained greedily on the three colorful mini capsules. Her little warriors.

"Well, I didn't feel like going through the damn paperwork for getting you out of this hell hole. And they wouldn't let you out anyway. Something about a self contract. So, I decided to kindly pick up your buddies and bounce back here. I grabbed your stuff, so you can change out of that potato sack, too."

"Did you disable the cameras?"

His grin widened, nodding. "Very good, my dear. It seemed you gained some war tactics along the way."

"It would have been terribly rude if I didn't. After all, I had to give Plasma a few presents of my own work, at least."

She tackled him in a huge hug, feeling a warmth that she had been certain that was stolen from her. _Delight._

Kassandra knew from stories she was told when she was young, that her grandfather was never a fan of the law, but this was new. It seemed like their relationship hadn't changed in the slightest, however.

She fell into step behind him, and felt her old reflexes kick in.

They stopped at the women's bathroom. "What if I like my potato sack?" Kassandra asked with a crooked brow, hands on her hips.

"Oh, really now?" He asked with bemused surprise.

"Oh, Legends no. This thing is itchy as it is ugly. We should probably hurry, huh?"

"Probably." He grandfather admitted, ancient burly fingers drumming on his taser.

Kassandra jumped into the bathroom, staring at her bag in disbelief. It was big and old and dirty, but reliable. She loved it. It was a miracle having that little familiarity back. It felt almost like too much, knowing her grandfather was holding her pokeballs safe, too.

She glanced in the mirror, curious. She had refused to look at herself at all, in the past three mental clinics. The first one, was because of she was scared too. If she peeped, would she still be human, or a monster? In the second one, she was angry. Trapped. She did little outside of the room as much as she could, determined to protest. In the third- her current one, she gave up.

She didn't want her friends and parents to see her so... Messy. But her grandfather knew what the bad side of life was, he had mucked around in it himself, apparently. And she wasn't saying her buddies didn't know the horrors of war that she faced, but she didn't was to show them a Kassandra that wasn't really... Kassandra.

Okay, she didn't know how to put it, but she didn't want to see them. It would be painful, and she didn't want that. She might get angry, which she didn't need. She could get emotional, which didn't help anyone.

She didn't really trust herself anymore.

Kassandra finally opened her eyes to see a extremely worn, tired young girl there. She had a mess of black-brown curls, and empty brown eyes that held a tinge of red. Her skin was pasty and almost grayish, from being locked up for two months. Dark rings fell below her eyes, a sign she knew would be there anyway. She felt a quite a bit weaker, having not had any physical activity in ages. A boxy white gown consumed her now thin figure.

She ran into the stall and slammed the door shut after what felt like a millennia, a little frightened.

That didn't look like herself. That looked like a person whom had given up.

She shook her head ferociously. She would not give up. She was sixteen, and had her pokemon waiting. Now all she needed to do was live.

Her worn pants still fit well if not a little baggy, making her feel a little less... Naked. Being in the dress made her feel too loosely clothed, although she had forgotten about it over time.

She inspected the hole on her right pant leg, where her knee was. Perfect.

Next, she threw on one of her many white dusty button ups. She had missed the soft linen more than she had realized.

Lastly, she dug to the bottom of the bag, unsure if she wanted to find it or not. When her fingers touched the old fabric, she felt her eyes well up. It had been a while since she had seen it.

She shrugged the jet black gentleman jacket on, rubbing her eyes of the waterworks with the long sleeves. She glanced at the inner cuff, recognizing the childish, messy scrawl. "Harvester" was boldly written on there in silver sharpie, which she had taught him before she bought him the jacket for his victory against Elesa. It was a bit big for a servine, but he had loved it. When he evolved he could wear it no more, so she had got him a top hat because he liked to think of himself as knightly.

"Are you ready yet, Kassandra?"

She yanked a brush through her dull chocolate bird's nest, mentally scolding herself for being so sentimental and wasting time. She stuffed the jacket back in and threw the bag over her shoulders, sprinting out of the bathroom.

Security guards were hot on their trail, as they ran with all their might towards the exit. Kassandra had her three balls strapped to her belt once more, and it felt like a dream that she never wanted to end.

Many people cleared the street as they ran, yells calling at their backs. Some cleared because it seemed only logical. But a good number recognized Kassandra, and even went as far to block the security men, encouraging her.

She really loved Castelia City.

"I have a boat waiting at the docks!" Her grandfather called, running with the grace of a young man. She nodded, lungs and body hurting but she knew better than to complain right then. And she had better get used to it. Victim or not, she was a trainer and would always be a trainer at heart, which meant her body needed to be able to keep up with her pokemon.

She grabbed his arm and sped him through a short cut to the side road of the city. The alley would be the fastest and closest shot, but it was too far away from their route.

Her heart plummeted as she ran past a pristine building, that she felt a painful urge to run into. It was a phantom pain all over her body, not doing the memorized motion. It was his gym, after all. If she ran in there, she could see him...

A hand lightly pushed her back, her grandfather helping her forward.

She kept on, swallowing the need. If she saw him, he would see her. She still looked like that girl whom was dead on the inside from the mirror, old clothes or not. For the sake of herself and him, she ran on.

At the turn lane, she grabbed her grandfather. "We're close enough, we can teleport." She went through the familiar motion of throwing the ball in the air, and catching it with ease.

Out of it spilled Mythos, her slowking. He glanced at her, then at the elderly man whom seemed to look a lot like her. He nodded as she hurriedly rambled about the docks.

Yells from the security men had started catching up with them. Kassandra turned to glance at them while Mythos took a few moments to build energy. He was teleporting them to a hiding spot she had found near there ages ago, otherwise they'd have been there in a flash, two months of no training or not.

She felt herself freeze when a certain head of messy chestnut brown curls started after them. He looked hurt, and confused. Kassandra didn't have time to say much, and all she could think to say was a tiny, heartfelt, "I'm sorry," before she was gone in the teleportation.

She felt like a guilty child, mumbling an apology before revealing what had been done. Like burning the eggs badly even as they tried so hard to make them a surprise breakfast, or like trying to wash their parents' car with shampoo and messing up the paint.

But, instead of burning simple little eggs, she had charred the house. Or, she had instead destroyed the car, instead of the paint.

Kassandra numbly returned the slowking, and trudged after her grandfather.

What crap had she been thinking about earlier, about living her life well, becoming whole again? Because as she stumbled onto the fairly nice little ship, she wanted to do nothing but wallow in her corner again, wanting to fade away.

.-+-.-+-.-+-.

**Ahoy! Kassandra and her grandfather are on their way to Kanto and she's free of her cell, finally. Thank you for reading! Reviews mean a lot to me, so if you feel so tempted, please do. Your thoughts and any and all criticism are greatly appreciated! **


	2. Deciso

_She smiled with amusement, rolling her eyes. "I told you to look after a sewaddle, and I return to you being at her mercy. You're a gym leader, for crying out loud. I think this calls for it."_

_The cute bug chittered mischievously, grinning._

_Kassandra sat next to him, licking some ice cream. "Hey Penelope, show Mama how proud you are!" The small bug danced and jumped on his back and excitedly reenacted everything. Even Burgh, who was being jumped on repeatedly by a 10-15 pound creature seemed to be amused_

_She handed him the one in her other hand when Penelope went to go play around the gym and they ate with happy conversation about said bug._

_A artsy phone buzzed a few feet away, and proceeded to fall off the edge of the floor level._

_"I hope that wasn't important." She said, staring at where it had fallen._

_"Me too. Can you get it for me? Sorry but I'm a little tied down."_

_Kassandra made a huge show of groaning and flailing to get up but jogged lightly down the stairs, getting the phone, and answering it after seeing the caller ID. "Hey."_

_"Hey, Kassandra. Mind giving the phone over to your boyfriend? Don't worry, you'll hear about this too."_

_She sputtered for several seconds, subconsciously glancing back at him in her panic, her face shifting to a number of odd, awkward faces before she quietly whispered her reply. "H-he ain't- er, isn't my boyfriend, Elesa."_

_"Now that's a Southern accent if I've ever heard one."_

_"Ah, hush you fusser. I'm giving the phone to him now."_

_"It's love, girl."_

"_It's _not!" _She huffed, grumpily before taking the device from her ear._

_Burgh chuckled as he laid on the ground, stuck in String Shot. "Sorry I couldn't get the door. I'm... A little tied up here." A totally innocent sewaddle sat on him, looking triumphant._

_"I see. Hey, Pennelope, is that seat next to you taken?" Kassandra asked casually._

_Burgh's face transformed into mock horror. "N-no. I'm begging you, Kandra, don't."_

_Kassandra handed Burgh's phone to him to rid herself of the teasing, walking over to the large main window with a thoughtful, afterwards. The two gym leaders seemed to pass a few jokes, but Kassandra focused on her ice cream, wondering what the news was. Why'd that Elesa always have to tease her about things she wasn't good with, she absentmindedly sighed, body relaxing._

_She started to space out, completely, her train of thought taking a large give as something occurred to her. The next battle against Plasma would be soon. She could practically feel it, with all the tension from their leaders thick enough to cut like a piece of cake._

_"Kandra, let's go out to eat! Lenora, Lisa, and Jack are gonna meet us there, so we can discuss our next move. Elesa couldn't make it. Uh, are you alright?"_

_Kassandra blinked, and glanced at where his gaze was going. The ice cream cup was crumpled in her hand, its contents spewed on the ground and skin. She had been looking forward to actually enjoying the ice cream. "I'm fine. That sounds like a plan. Um… Sorry about the mess..."_

_"No worries. Little Pennelope wouldn't dare let such a delicious mess go to waste!" He stated cheerily, grinning with a energetic mood. If he thought her moment of mental absence had been strange, he didn't make any sign of it._

_They both chuckled and watched the bug scuttle towards it, with happy eyes and an excited tongue, diving right into the smooth substance. It was a Castelia treat and both pokemon and human alike could enjoy it._

_Half an hour later, they were meeting the others at a small bar. A hippy slammed away on his guitar and several dancers entertained the audience closest to the stage._

_"Lenora thinks we should offer them a olive branch if we can still, at this point." Lisa stated, fixing her straightened blue hair. She had the same earthy skin and crazy hair as her mother, but wore criminally short shorts with a dark pink boxing bra and a thin white jacket._

_Burgh rolled his eyes. "If Lenora had it her way, we'd all be neck deep in history books and fighting wars on chessboards."_

_The ex gym leader lightly slapped his arm. "We should not repeat mistakes if we can help it! I know I've drilled this into you at least by now, boy."_

_"I personally think we should get within their ranks and assassinate their leaders." Jack said blankly, yawning. To Kassandra, he seemed more tired than ever, and she wished she had gotten there early to quiz him on his current actions. Jack was a slender guy, with a childish face and a quiet personality most of the time. He wore a heavy trench coat over a fashionable grey button-up and a black vest, with tan slacks._

_"Way too risky." Lenora and Lisa injected at the same time, cross with the very idea._

_Kassandra watched their conversation with amusement, mostly withdrawing to her thoughts. They couldn't just fight this war with politics. Just like most of the trainers fighting, they had their comrades and friends stolen, murdered, or were tricked into releasing them out of compassion and love. If emotions of all of that had not been involved, then maybe the olive branch would reach, but they were all creatures capable of emotion. No a soul among the resistance knew of a way to end it with less blood, and not many of them wanted to._

_"We're getting close to their castle. What about sending our elite trainers in the middle, with the regulars battling the majority?" Jack offered after taking a sip of his soda._

_Lisa shook her head. "They'd expect that, right? Plus, there would be the delay of pulling down the gates and main door. We have some people on the inside, but they would be too suspicious and would probably get executed right away if they opened the doors, if they weren't caught in the wave of battle flowing in from the doors beforehand."_

"_We need them to access other rooms, too. We might find some stolen pokemon or evidence for our legal case." Kassandra added in._

_After a few hours of debating all the aspects, they agreed on a plan._

_The elite trainers would stealthily stay to the walls and creep to the vents while the battle was held in the main field. Skyla, the gym leader, would grab a view from above and tell them when the battle was at its climax, and signal them to crawl in. The elites would sweep through the mostly empty building and find any of the largest leaders and kill them if they had to, or more hopefully detain them, if they didn't surrender with any means possible._

_The elites would be Lisa, Jack, Kass, and a few other trainers. The E4 and gym leaders would have to be in their respective gyms and places for the region, as they were what kept it alive even as it was in the shambles of war. They were probably the only reason the civilians were calm and oblivious to the politics and war of the trainers._

_Lenora would be their emergency help and general field tactician. Burgh would relay orders and information. Clay was dead and his position not yet filled, and Cheren was helping on the field. The other gym leaders would protect their posts and towns, making sure no surprise attacks from the opposing side would crush them or raid the cities._

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

**Ameliorate, Act I**

**Deciso **_-be determined-_

She sat on her hard bed on the ship, feeling rather neutral about it. It was built for speed, not comfort, although she didn't really mind. And she didn't want to bother her grandfather, as he was steering the boat, and whenever Kassandra was anywhere near helping or even standing by directions, a curse was placed, and they magically found themselves quite lost.

She sighed, stroking a snoozing Pennelope as Mythos made shapes with water in the air. Monti was curled tightly around one of her feet, a habit he hadn't lost from when he was a meowth when he was scared.

To be honest, she didn't enjoy the rock of the boat, or the ocean air slapping her in the face everytime she went out for air, but it was a means to get somewhere. She could accept the harsh travel a little while more. For the place where she was going and its freedoms, this was nothing.

Lisa and Burgh had sent an avalanche of texts and calls, and she ignored the constant chime, long since having thrown it across the room. She didn't have the heart to turn it off.

She did reply to a few from her parents, though. She told them what happened, and to not follow her for any reason, not until she was ready.

She scrolled through her really, really old messages, to before she ever met Burgh or had the heartache of being a trainer. She and Lisa... Legends, what were they thinking when they were younger? Even Jack, to a lesser extent! Such weird kids. Kassandra couldn't ever imagine being that random. Awkward, maybe, socially inept, definitely, but not that random.

She chuckled at fond, old memories.

.-+-.-+-.-+-.

They stopped in Pallet Town, where she had run to the nearest farm the moment she got out of the boat, knowing the land and felt so excited that it was almost flowing out of her.

She had met Professor Oak a number of times. Whenever she used to be in school, he'd come over once a month and either show off a beautiful specimen, or a lesson that was far more interesting than the normal ones.

And then, a few times during the Plasma deal. She didn't think he noticed whom she was though, he never stated anything implying so.

But... She had heard so much about his pokemon. As a trainer, one a bit interested in breeding and pokemon care in general, it was like a golden opportunity!

Kassandra could hear the healthy, lively cries of pokemon, a charizard lazily drifting in the air with a charmander on his back. She could almost smell the poop and the food and the grass, and had been a second from ringing the doorbell before she was over her grandfather's shoulder.

"Let me go!" Kassandra growled, finding the situation far less amusing than she did when she was a kid.

"No, Kassandra. Think, think! If Oak knew you were here, your high-up contacts and superiors would know!"

"But-"

"Shush, Kass. We'll be at the place soon enough." Her grandfather sighed, placing her down.

She crossed her arms, pouting. "Fine."

They discreetly left, and neither said a word to each other. Kassandra released Monti to keep her company, curiously studying the cat while her grandfather led the way, both sides still a little miffed.

.-+-.-+-.-+-.

It was almost an entire day's worth of walking, but they finally found Viridian City. A faint smile carried to her face, the memories of following her own first route trailing in her mind.

Except, the setting here was a lot calmer, and especially more rustic. It was breathtaking, seeing such harmony with humans and pokemon. Rattata and spearow ran around, some pulling mischievous pranks and others occasionally nabbing apples and berries. Surprisingly, it seemed some wild ones were even helping around.

She and her grandfather found the local cafe, and ate dinner in silence. Kassandra wanted to release her pokemon, but he was too paranoid. Then again, he was always paranoid, apparently.

Kassandra sipped her sweet tea in deep thought, trying her best to ignore the watch on her wrist. It had certainly stopped buzzing so much, but she really wanted to tell Burgh what happened, and explain it to Lisa and just hug it out and cry with her, and then cuddle with Jack and watch Disney movies (for some reason watching them a million times over didn't seem to appeal to Lisa) and have things return to how they were.

Unfortunately, Kassandra didn't have a rewind button for life.

Her grandfather left to pay, and a little brown haired boy ran up to her table in his absence.

He was absolutely adorable, and couldn't have been more than ten. He was missing a tooth on the bottom row, and his eyes were the bluest she had ever seen, his wild chestnut curls bouncing with almost a mind of their own. "Missus, can we have a pokemon battle?" He held a enlarged red and white capsule in his hands, clumsily grasping it in a adorably inexperienced position.

A simple grin found her face, feeling a little unfamiliar but good. Her grandfather's nagging growl cautioned her, but she fully ignored it. This kid was too cute to deny.

He eagerly grabbed her wrist, gently pulling her along to a very basic battle field to the side of the cafe. Kassandra silently noticed a mother and a boy probably a year or two older than her follow in step.

She felt the same old battle feel make her heart pitter pat, even though she knew this battle would be easy despite her reluctance to overestimate opponents. She tossed a pokeball between her hands easily, waiting for him to quickly beg his mother and all, and then scramble to his side of the field.

A pidgey came out of the ball, staring at the sky nonchalantly. "I'll go first so you don't have to!" He stated proudly. It was basic trainer etiquette to give to someone you challenged, although she didn't think she'd need that advantage. "Go, Numbnuts!"

Kassandra stared at the kid wide eyed for a moment before laughing a little, unsure of what she had been expecting. But certainly not that.

The brother and mother both seemed equally appalled, however, and the mother glared at the sheepish older son.

So, that meant the older son probably said the name as a joke, which the kiddy took seriously. And, since they didn't know it yet, it was barely caught. Kassandra processed this as she laid her hand on her pokeballs.

Kassandra reconsidered her choices. She liked this kid and didn't feel up to do what she had originally planned, which was to beat him in one or two moves so as to not completely crush his spirit, and act as a role model. Monti would've been the perfect choice for that, considering not only was he actually common in the region, but disdainful and that would complete the role model look.

But, she now officially liked this brown haired, too blue eyed child too much. (She may have had a soft spot for kids.) Despite her better judgement, she sent out Mythos and whispered the plan to him on the side of the field.

The older brother and mother seemed a little taken aback by the abnormally strong pokemon, but the kid probably hadn't learned of slowking or his evolution line yet. He seemed to enthralled with the idea of a battle.

"Use Peck!" The kid yelled. The bird didn't listen.

Kassandra knew the bird probably didn't even know that yet, and the bird was too relaxed to attack without purpose. She would bet plenty of money that the kid hadn't let it out since he caught it recently.

"Mythos, try a Tackle?" She said in a false nervous tone, trying to give the kid confidence.

Mythos got the memo, and trudged after the bird to give it a weak Tackle; however due to both the kid's fearful yelling and natural instinct of flight, it flew above him and gave the pink amphibious creature a Tackle. The kid got the idea, too. "Keep up with that Tackle, buddy!"

Thankfully, Mythos kept up with the over-the-top reactions, hurting himself more with stumbling and falling than the bird's Tackles. Kassandra forfeit as the slowking slumped to the ground in a grumpy mood, probably heavily annoyed and tired from injuring himself.

She recalled him before patting the kid on the shoulder as they met in the middle of the field. "Man, kid, you battle hard. How long have you had the bird? It looks really promising!"

His face flushed cutely with the compliments, and he bashfully smiled at her. "I caught him today! It was our first battle, actually! T-thank you, miss! I'm Cayden, nice to meet you!"

Kassandra caught her grandfather storming up from behind, and she decided to make it quick. "I'd tell ya my name, Cayden, but its a secret!" She discreetly slid a handful of dusty bills into his limp hands and winked before her grandfather forcefully yanked her away.

"What are you, daft? Stupid?! I tell you to lay low, and you do the exact-" His gaze fell to Cayden, whom was staring at the elder with his wide, innocent blue eyes. He dragged Kassandra farther away, grumbling under his breath. They checked in the pokecenter, using her old beginner trainer card. It couldn't really be traced- trainers with no badges weren't exactly uncommon in Viridian City, considering where it sat in the Gym Circuit.

She took the couch of their room, falling asleep the minute they got in there. One, because she was tired, and two, she really wanted to avoid her grandfather's angry rant. With her previous information from when she was nine, and from the past week, she didn't want to press her luck.

.-+-.-+-.-+-.

Kassandra waited for her grandfather to catch up, feeling fresh and at ease. Traveling used to seem tedious and often too cold to be enjoyable, but here, the weather was perfectly pleasant, and the wildlife here was quite a bit more perky. Monti was casually strolling at her side, purring loudly with contentment.

Kanto was way warmer than Unova, which was what they both preferred.

"Kass... andra. Almost... there." Her grandfather huffed and puffed, motioning her to go on. His five o'clock shadow was evident, and she could see the tremble of his left leg.

Kassandra had known her grandfather was very fit for his age, but he seemed to favor his right. If he bent it weird, he would have to steady it for a moment, and occasionally ice it when he thought she wasn't looking. She didn't notice when they were running away in Castelia, so she hadn't known until they began to climb through the forest.

She had asked him if it was injured or torn, or if the cartilage had worn down, but he wouldn't say, much to her frustration.

He hadn't said much to her since the urge to give a visit to Oak overwhelmed her. The things he yelled at the dinky little battle field, those were the first words he had told her since she almost rang the doorbell.

In her defense, she had been in total pokemon withdraw for two months, and while she had hers afterwards, it was always a very interesting experience meeting other pokemon.

And well, there had been so many pokemon in those fields, it was like a drunk being offered all the liquor he could want, after being forcefully dry for a sixth of a year. Not to mention sweet land after what felt like years of being on a boat.

Sighing, she spared him one last glance before starting again. Kassandra was fairly certain her grandfather was lost, but refused her offers of help. Not that it would probably help, but she wished they could at least talk. It wasn't her fault she liked kids, and in her defence, the kid had been _really_ cute.

The sun rose and started to fall as they marched through the Viridian Forest. The silence was especially oppressive; it was as if her voice was momentarily stolen as they strolled.

"It looks like Miss Secret Agent!"

Kassandra whipped her head around, to see the adorable head of messy chocolate curls and eyes that were impossibly blue. Cayden was hopping nonstop, running over to her like a rabbit and tackled her into a hug. "Hi Miss Secret Agent!"

She laughed a little, until she heard a growl. Kassandra frowned, seeing Monti hiss from the corner of her eye.

"Monti, cool it, buddy."

The hiss receded, but she could tell the feline was still glaring at the boy.

"Is your kitty angry with me?"

"No, he's just a silly overprotective kitty. Really, he couldn't hurt a fly." She ruffled his hair.

Well, really, Monti wouldn't dare get anywhere near a fly, much less touch the dirty thing it to kill it. But, Cayden didn't need to know that.

"And that's the angry man from last night!" Cayden yelped.

Her grandfather was red in the face, glaring at her. Probably restraining himself from telling her off again.

This too cute kid with too blue eyes was just too cute to ignore. She sent a helpless smile at her grandfather, hoping he caught her message.

"Cayden!

A older looking version of Cayden ran up to him, lightly punching the kid's arm. "You just skipped out on chores again, stupid."

Cayden laughed, scratching his head. "Oopies, sorry Brent. But look!" He said excitedly, pointing to Kassandra.

The older boy, Brent, looked fairly confused. "What are you guys doing near Viridian Village?"

"I lived here." Her grandfather rasped, using Kassandra's shoulder as support. "I spoke with the mayor about an arrangement for my granddaughter to live here for a while. On our property, the Rune farm."

_**Thank you Boss Salamence for reviewing! ^w^ Really brightened my day~**_

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the week delayed update I've been so overwhelmed this week with prefinal stuff and like a bajillion concerts and recitals this past week. Or. Like 3. _Anyway_ chapter three should be up shortly after this. Now this is starting to be a little more Harvest Moon-y :D Next chapter light should slowly begin to be casted on Kassandra's past journey and new one too! And yaaay, Burgh was thrown in too, along with Jack and Lisa. Isn't Penelope a cutie? I don't think I actually had one in my file of Black 2 that I'm basing this off loosely, but I really like the idea of her.

Okay, less authortalky and I hope you enjoy your day! Please review with your thoughts or criticism, follow or favorite if you wanna, and I hope the chapter was fun to read! :3


	3. Da Capo

_Kassandra fixed her glasses, failing to resist a grin. In her hand was her first baby step to strength. Two months of being a pokemon trainer, and the first badge was clutched in her own hands, that she earned._

_A green snake rested against her leg, and she mentally scolded herself. She did it with her dear little gentleman, Harvester the snivy, a silly sentret named Sherlock, and her family''s herdier, Penny. Her little ragtag team of misfits for success._

_"Good job!"_

_She smiled at the man across the field. It was partly his doing that she wanted to be a trainer in the first place. His red tie and glasses were still in her pocket, from earlier._

_The gym leader and teacher, Cheren, had been missing for several weeks. Normally the officials wouldn't mind terribly, but there was a radical team becoming quite dangerous._

_Kassandra had actually been on her way home from the request of her father to return before she got caught up in the Plasma drama. She had heard one of their speeches, and felt really, really ill as a whole person._

_Was training that bad? What right did she have to do this to these creatures? But that's when she found an injured sentret, and left these thoughts behind._

_On her trek back home, only three turns away from her house, a police officer pulled her aside, recognizing her. He knew she was a student of the Pokemon Trainer School, a student of Cheren's. He requested her help, and she figured she was three days late on arriving home, a little detour couldn't do much more harm._

_Penny's amazing nose snuffed the glasses and tie, and she found her way there in an hour. He was in a hardly noticeable little cottage in the forest. Kassandra couldn't help but notice how run down it was._

_The green paint was peeling, the door was half falling out of the doorway, and it smelled like a lot of mold and mildew._

_He invited her to sit inside while he would find his healing machine, since the battle completely exhausted Harvester and Penny had gotten a nasty Scratch to her hide. Sherlock wasn't physically able to battle quite yet._

_She sat, staring at the boring walls. She really needed a bathroom. She supposed he wouldn't be too mad if she did._

_She kept finding closets. Seven freaking closets, and not a single bathroom. On her eight attempt of finding, she found a surprise._

_There was Cheren, all beat up, in a closet. Purple bruises littered his revealed body, and a deep claw mark ran from his collar bone to his shoulder, now crusted with a scab. He was still alive, but seemed knocked out for the count and his condition didn't look very healthy._

_Why were there two Cheren's? Before she could come up with any possibilities, Cheren #1 grabbed her shoulder. His face was twisted with ruddy rage, and he was transforming?_

_Kassandra couldn't trust her eyes as the youthful Cheren #1 morphed slowly into a elder man, with part of his body consumed by a pink substance that had blank, beady eyes. It looked like it was eating him, absorbing him._

_Words escaped her as she withered and squirmed in his grip, roughly thrown on a big, creaky old bed. He tied her hands to a post and went outside the room to make a call, all the while she was screaming and hollering._

_She felt... Hollow as the reality of the situation still didn't feel real, despite her loudness. She had never felt so weak. Oddly enough, not especially scared which was contradictory with her calm panic exploding in her with all the speed of a dying star. Maybe it was because her pokeballs were still on her belt, but all her Pokemon were too weak to break through the confines of the ball, and she couldn't twist her hip to release them. The horror of the situation was unfolding, piece by piece in a puzzle she didn't want to finish._

_Kassandra couldn't think of anything, nothing at all. No escape plans, no regrets fell in her mind, and she couldn't even hear herself scream anymore; something she was only doing in futile instinct._

_When he came back, he attempted to raise her shirt even as she kicked him and tried to raise hell, now becoming scared. The panic was beginning to do more than trickle through her, now rising into a flooding river. "Letgoletgoletgoletgoletgo!"_

_He laughed, smirking as her as he exposed her belly and licked it._

**Disgusting**_, her entire being chorused, her skin crawling in tune with the bile rising in her throat and the white hot intensity of an absolute need to escape overtaking her mind._

_She kicked him square in the chest, causing him to fall off the bed somehow, the strength in her legs new to her. The real Cheren staggered in and hit the imposter with a large pan before he could get up off the floor. He untied the coarse rope around her wrists, and pulled her along, both too busy in action and thought to say anything._

_She didn't even think of her pack by the front door as they ran, just thinking of getting away, getting out. The thundering roar of the man-pokemon's rage was right behind them as they pulled into the forest._

_"Come out, you two!" He growled, stomping right past the tree they hid behind for what felt like her entire life span. Kassandra accidently sobbed after she could no longer hold in the tears, eyes wide in fear and body trembling in terror. The anger laced in her disgust had dissipated as her fear had settled in while they stood still._

_He turned around with unnatural speed and grasped her wrist before they could even think of reacting. She screamed, flailing as he pulled her into a neck hold. She couldn't die. Not this way, not this young, not now, not like this._

_Cheren slammed into him impressively with how beat up he looked, grunting in pain but it seemed the force was enough to send the man to the ground. His free hand had been reaching to his pocket for something that the true gym leader had knocked out of his grip in the process..._

_A sliver of metal that had skidded two feet away from the man answered her questions. A knife._

_The man in a desperate act alike the last hurrah of a primal creature, grasped the knife and flung it at Kassandra before Cheren could grab it or before she could run._

_It soared in the air and the sun glistened off of it, flying straight towards Kassandra. It was going too fast, and too slow for her to feel anything, just the spilling fear, turning from a river to an ocean of terror._

_It never hit her._

_Penny laid on the ground, leaking red. It was plunged into her lungs, and there was no way it didn't damage her heart._

_Kassandra anger rekindled quickly. She was very, very angry. She always had trouble with that finicky emotion, never really mad enough to be 'angry.'_

_But the herdier bleeding out on the ground, gasping for last breaths, broke a dam of rage she never knew she even could have._

_Cheren started tying him up, saying something about bringing him to the officials and charging him. She couldn't really hear the words over her thoughts that were crashing like violent symbols, crashing crashing crashing as the varying sentences collided and she could no longer think any action rationally, even the subconscious act of breathing being ragged and harsh._

_Out of her pack, she obtained her own knife she usually used for cooking and firewood gathering. Cheren watched her, wide eyed, and started rambling about being better than the ditto-man. She didn't particularly care to listen._

_Kassandra grew up in a passive aggressive environment. She learned and became largely sympathetic and empathetic, aware of the fact that people who cause fights and things like this were probably beaten as kids, or in some type of sad situation. Whatever their problems were, they weren't good in the slightest._

_But this thing... Not even a man, or a pokemon anymore, had just done something wrong. Kassandra could not process anything, but this._

_To her, it was simple. It was completely impossible for her pokemon to be fatally injured. There was no way she was going to die. All black and white, and very defined. But after her experiences that day, a area of grey matter formed and linked the two._

_Now, it was a bit different. She could be hurt, she could die. That was acceptable, somewhat. A scary concept, but not one she could ignore or escape in the long run as a trainer, especially as she traveled more and more._

_In realising this, she realised they were not quite invincible. Still, life without them was now a little unfathomable. He had just created something unfathomable._

_She had been too weak to do anything in this situation._

_"Cheren, get out of my way." She stated with a flat tone and no emotion. She didn't need emotion for this. Not for something this easy, this simple._

_"You're too young! Kassandra, don't sink to his level! Come on, no one has to get hurt now!"_

_She didn't respond, opting silence. Like the damnation staring back at her._

_She sent out Harvester from his ball, her other grip set tight on her knife. "Move him, buddy."_

_Cheren still seemed hell bent on stopping her, probably for moral reasons. "Snivy! Don't listen to her! She's in a bad place right now, and it will get worse if you don't stop her! She doesn't need to do this!"_

_"Grrreh." He pulled the knife from her hand, gently._

_Kassandra swallowed, and breathily spoke. "Harvester. Penny… is dead. Because of that person." She pointed at the murderer._

_"It's all for the best, Kassandra, trust me." Cheren advised, attempting to give her a hug of comfort, that she dodged. He sighed._

_The snivy softly prodded his heartbroken trainer out of the way, and pushed Cheren away from her with a little more force. "Grreh."_

_"Wh... What are you doing, Harvester?" She whispered, genuinely confused. Cheren's face drained._

_He closed his eyes, holding his face in his hands. "You've got to be kidding me. Come on, we really don't need any more death right now!"_

_Harvester's vine coiled around the knife, and he looked away, covering Kassandra's eyes with another vine._

_The knife sat in his chest, blood sputtering out darkly from his neck, the first cut. Cheren muttered something, and Harvester ran to the crying girl's arms._

_"I'm sorry." She sniffed, clutching her pokemon in a powerful bear hug. He nodded, licking her cheek._

_"Grreh."_

_.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-._

_Kassandra kicked a tree, growling in frustration. Elesa's Flame Charge bested Harvester for the 13th time. That damn zebstrika was a cruel bugger. Every stinking time, she had eventually got the better of the twin emolgas, dueled the voltorb, and finally beat the pikachu, she faced down the zebra of hell._

_Harvester had recently grown into a servine, which gave him quite a bit more umph now, still stood no chance against it. For the last few rounds, when the damned horse started kicking up fiery dirt and dust, Kassandra would immediately recall him and surrender for another day._

_"Hey, don't do that..."_

_Kassandra glanced left, then right. Said servine was sleeping in her sleeping bag, illuminated by the weak fire failing to bite off the chills of Autumn. The moon was bright, fighting off the dark of dusk valiantly._

_She was traveling alone. Just a little outside the city, but she surely would've noticed someone walk up. That or Mythos would, whom was peacefully relaxing away with his tail lazily dipping into the pond that she made camp next to._

_Experimentally, she kicked the tree again, after studying it close. Certainly not a woodoofufoo, or whatever those pseudo-trees were called. She hadn't heard much of them, just that they were a rock type that faked being a tree and they had yellow spots._

_"Staphhh dat. It isn't nice!"_

_She looked right and left again. She fixed her beanie, and poked the tree._

_"Heehee, that tickles!"_

_Kassandra blinked, frowning. "Are you a subcategory of plant type? Magic tree? ... Don't tell me. Starfish."_

_It giggled. "Non, non! I am a humble tree. But kicking hurts me! If I kicked you, wouldn't that hurt?"_

_"Firstly, you have no legs, so that'd be quite frankly, impossible. And you're a tree! It can't of hurt that much. It's improbable. Almost ridiculous. You have no mouth, either!"_

_Silence followed suit. It spoke again, in a man's voice. "Ey, yoo! Yoos be pickin on me sister?"_

_"Not physically, no. She still has her branches and leaves intact, I believe. But your body structure is quite confusing... I apologize if I offended you in anyway." Kassandra bowed a little, patting the tree kindly on a branch._

_Harvester stared at her, eyes wide in befuddlement. She coughed completely unsuspiciously (which meant very suspiciously) and slithered into her sleeping bag, beside her green little friend. "I think I need an early night." She mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Harvester nodded and licked her cheek._

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

**Ameliorate, Act I**

**Da Capo **_\- From the Beginning -_

Kassandra scrunched up her eyes, aware of a soft, leafy form between her draped arms, the sizzling scent of bacon, and the loud content purring of a cat. It felt almost alien to her, but painfully familiar. She sat up in a brightly light house.

It was _huge._ This was her new house, she remembered. Large windows let in warm afternoon light, with bird chirping in the distance. She smiled sleepily, reminded of when she was little, back on Cinnabar and in Celadon. The nature of Kanto felt comforting, if not out of place after living in mental care.

After they arrived, she met the large hulk of a man that was the mayor of the town. Wearing a pink polka dot shirt, and neon green parachute pants, the man welcomed her into the homely village. She only got a glimpse of it as she followed her grandfather to the dusty house.

This castle of a house was all old fashion plantation style, with modern things here and there. It was beautiful. _I wonder why Grampa would leave __**this**__,_ she wondered, smiling at the sleeping bug on her lap.

Kassandra eventually found her way to the kitchen, following her taste buds. There stood a homely looking woman next to a concentrating, cooking Mythos, which made her grin. "Hello there, I'm Kassandra. Who would you be?"

"A friendly neighbor. I'll explain to you once you eat."

Ten minutes later, Kass was staring down a foot and a half of bacon and toast. The savory scent of meat made her taste buds water, and she had to keep herself from drooling. This was real food- which she hadn't seen the likes of since the pre-finale attack party.

She glanced at Monti and Mythos, also seated around her with matching portions, who all gave her begging glares. She looked at the kind cook, who nodded, and she dug in, wolfing it down ravenously. Something bothered her in the back of her mind, but she ignored it.

This was nice. Real breakfast was hard to come by as a trainer. Whatever you or your pokemon killed, or the berries they found, and that was your dinner. While wild game wasn't bad after some experimenting and roasting, it never matched the breakfast made by a mother.

Kassandra munched on a bacon stripe thoughtfully, taking in the food. _I wish I could've shared this with Harvester._ The sentence popped into her head rudely, imposing on her sanity. She had stopped with the tears over Harvester a few weeks ago for the most part, but she couldn't help but cry.

But, at least this time, this was a almost happy cry. Kass couldn't feel totally happy without Harvester, but, she felt that this was good. She was safe from Plasma. From the doctors. She was somewhere good.

The tears came and wouldn't stop.

The lady seemed startled and unsure what to do about the bawling teenager, looking thoroughly disgruntled.

Monti put a paw on the edge of her chair to stand and licked Kassandra's cheek, causing her to give a watery smile, wiping the salty droplets and cat saliva from her face. "S-sorry. I guess I- Penelope, NO!"

All at once she realised what had been bothering her as a flying, seething, enraged sewaddle ran rampant to the kitchen, clutching to the lady's arm, about to clamp her tiny teeth into the woman's jugular in mere seconds, but was stopped short by Mythos' Psychic attack. Kass swiftly returned her, mumbling under her breath as she checked over the woman. "I'm so sorry! Penelope has delicate mind. I should've known better than to leave her out, I apologize- I am so sorry. You aren't hurt, I think, at least. Do you feel any pain?"

"No," the lady shook her head, eyes wet as well, hand on her heart. "I'm fine. I'm Carla, the baker and the carpenter's wife. He told me I shouldn't come and barge in, but I wanted to greet you warmly. I heard you were a trainer, and I know you trainers don't get good food-"

Kassandra chuckled, helping her up from where she fell. "It was the best meal I've had in months. Thank you, very much. And… I'm really sorry about Penelope. That really was my fault. I knew she was like that, but we've been apart for two months… No, that isn't an excuse. I apologize for my stupidity."

The baker flapped her arms, smiling warmly now, already over the fright of the experience. "Shush, child. A near death experience opens our eyes. I'm not hurt, am I? Now there are some fields outside you should clear, and then come over to eat dinner at city hall, everyone is anxious to meet you. City hall is on the top of the hill after you walk down the trail from your house, can't miss it." And then, Carla was gone just as quickly as she came. Kass sat down for a moment, the house quiet again, staring at the ball in her hands.

_What… just happened? Penelope… How can I make you better?_

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Really Monti?" Kassandra sighed, completely unimpressed, staring at the big feline, who was basking in the sun next to the pond.

Mythos was already working on moving rocks with his abilities, smiling to himself with some private joke. Shrugging, she went to work, slightly daunted by the fields of rock and weeds. Her grandfather's words came back to her, from before he left.

"_This place used to be a lively farm back in its heyday. I'd like to see you work it back to its original beauty. I want you to try and live normally here, farm happily, and heck, fall in love if you can. I have to go for a while, but I'll be back in three months, at the beginning of August. Now, don't do drugs, and use protection!"_

… Why was her grandfather so strange, she wondered for a moment, large rock in tow. Heavy, but not as heavy as her old training gear used to feel.

"Nope, you can't move me."

Kassandra looked around, but no one was there. "So its you again, Mister Rock." She said, looking down at the rock.

This occasionally happened. After her badge from Elesa, right around the time she got Mythos, inanimate objects would speak to her. At first it was two trees. Trees were easily offended. Rocks were testy and moody. Rivers were the only nice ones to have conversations with.

"Nope, I'm his friend, Mister Rock."

Kass yawned. "Yeah yeah, whatever, Mister Rock." The rocks all coincidentally had the same name. "I'm still moving your fat ass."

"Nope, nope nope nope, no no, non, wee wee, no, can't be, nope, nada, zilch chance. Nopers, nopiety nope nope. Na-ah sister, nope." This continued all the way to the well, where Kassandra promptly threw him before returning to work, a little exhausted from the stupidity of rocks. They just had no class.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Kassandra's heart was going a thousand miles per hour as she and Mythos stood outside the city hall doors. She had left Monti to keep company with Penelope and guard the house.

A damp, cool amphibian paw slipped into her hand, and a smile warmed her face. "Thanks, Mythos."

"Mm."

They walked in to see a long oak table, that must have been as long as a house. A colorful array of people sat, their chatter silencing after she walked in. She could feel dangerous glares, the difference between them and her. The mayor began to get up to go over to her, but she didn't think she was ready for this.

"I'm sorry, wrong random house in the forest." She quickly turned on her heel, dragging a startled Mythos with her, until a small form wrapped around her waist.

"No, don't go away!"

Kassandra looked down, baffled as a determined Cayden clung to her. It was an odd sensation, but it made her happy, all the same. A fragment of her earlier smile returned. "I- I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"Yay!" He exclaimed toothily, blue crystal eyes bright as he brought her to a pair of reserved seats. One of them had probably had been for her grandfather.

Mythos got to the chair beside her, having a glaring game with Cayden. He had probably wanted to sit there. This made her chuckle, rolling her eyes at her pokemon's childishness. She felt flattered nonetheless.

After the whispers quelled and silence took its place, she was once again acutely aware of the stares.

"Everyone, please warmly accept Kassandra Rune as another family member to our community."

Applause roared in the halls and questions were being shot at her, so much she couldn't begin to answer them.

_Why did you come here? What's with your slowking? Why was Carla attacked by your sewaddle? How do you know Cayden? Your grandpa is a hunk, missy!_

Normally, she probably would've started to run away, the number of people interested in her scaring the crap out of her, but a lick of courage burst through, probably from the comfort of Mythos right next to her.

"I'm Kassandra Rune. I'm not going to lie, I'm not quite alright right now. I fought a lot during the war of Unova against Team Plasma. I… lost some friends. I…" Kassandra almost admitted her sin, but the words wouldn't go past her throat. She tried again and again, but they were stuck. "My grandfather wanted me to fix the farm, and heal around all you lovely folks. I would love to get to know all of you, and repay your kindness, so please don't hesitate to speak with me. Please don't come over unannounced though. I have a bit of a rapid bug problem."

A bit of laughter bubbled from the people, and they clapped once more.

The dinner tasted delicious, and everyone was more friendly than she could imagine. The livestock shop owner was giving her a miltank for milk and the botanist, Carla's sister Natalie, was giving her seeds to grow once she cleared the fields.

A dulled feeling pounded in her chest, a smile slowly pulling at her face. This was hope. This was feeling safe, and welcome. Security.

**Author's Note:** Chapter three is up and running and I hope you enjoyed it! I have a little easter egg in here too, I bet you guys can find it! Anyway, I remember having some difficulty writing this chapter. As you can see, not a lot happens but we're gettin' turnips and cows now :D In harvest moon that usually defines the beginning, which is why I thought the title fit doubly with her new beginning, too.

Penny was also just something I caught and was floating around in my box forever, and then I was writing and I was bored so I made her a bit of a South Park joke when I was writing this just for shits and giggles. And then recently, I wrote her back story and asdfghjkl; I am so happy she's more than a South Park joke now. I hope you guys come around to liking her too :D

Criticism is appreciated as well as your thoughts and I hope you guys had fun reading it! Next time we meet our cow and a few more villagers! Follow or favorite if you're inclined:D


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